January is a time for new beginnings and I am thrilled at the new future, announced today, of the Novartis Site.
Novartis has said throughout this process that they wished to create a “legacy”. I am delighted that that wish looks like it will come to fruition. Companies looking beyond short term financial gain into the bigger picture is great news and Novartis should be congratulated for acting responsibly in respect of a town in which their industry was a very important employer for many years and may yet be again.
Likewise the County Council looks set to acheive a great success for the area and is creating an opportunity for which it believes there is substantial demand in the local and regional economy.
It is very early days and a huge amount of work needs to be done by many stakeholders to make this the success it deserves to be. However we all want Horsham to continue to be a thriving commercial success in its own right. Ensuring that we have space in the heart of Horsham to create the cluster of small to medium sized Bio-Medical businesses that can grow is great news. They will have every prospect to create the high value jobs of the future. Who knows what future global success stories may be established in the North of the town.
It proves yet again the importance of contining to support, as our local schools do so well, the “STEM” subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths. Having a pool of talent at apprenticeship as well as graduate level is a critical part of the patchwork that will maintain Horsham as a great place to build an innovative business.
Another element is the fact that Horsham is a great place to live, as well as having what should be supurb infrastructure: our rail links to London must be made as reliable in practice as they are in theory.
While writing of new beginings: I am supported in my Parliamentary duties by a very small but hard-working team. I am delighted to say that rather than basing them in all Westminster I will soon have a Horsham office up and running. One of the most important tasks in any Parliamentary Office is that of Caseworker: helping the MP to support constituents with specific problems that need addressing. Cases can be very challenging but the rewards of being able to acheive the right result more than compensate. I started advertising today for a new full-time Caseworker to be based in Horsham. Good inter-personal, problem-solving and communication skills are essential. Someone with personal experience of the Citizens Advice Service or Local Government would have great existing knowledge of many of the issues on Welfare, Health and Housing that regularly arise. However this doesn’t preclude anyone applying with the skill set who would like to help people and to try a new challenge. Full details can be found on my website www.jeremyquin.com.